- Chapter 3 -
They had been given the weekend off and everyone wanted to do something fun.
"Come on, Mikasa," called Armin
"You guys go on ahead." She replied
"Are you going to be okay?" asked Eren, realizing that it was the anniversary of Mikasa's parent's death.
"I will be fine, I just need some time alone." She left the base and wondered around the town for several hours. She didn't really want to bump into anyone she knew. She was walking past a pub at the edge of town when three men came out. All of them were obviously drunk. They blocked her path.
"What's a pretty face like you doing all alone?" asked one of the men. She didn't answer. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" The man reached out and grabbed her by the arm. She released herself from his hold and pushed him away from her. The drink that was in his hand spilled onto her shirt. The other two laughed.
"She's a little feisty. Isn't she?" said the other man.
"Let me pass." said Mikasa, her voice monotone and her expression blank
"You think the boss will like her?" asked the other man, ignoring Mikasa's demand
"I think so, it looks like she's got some Asian blood too." Something snapped in her. Their words echoed in her head 'Asian blood' 'Pretty face'. Both men were taller than her. She kicked one man in the knee cap and punched him in the throat. He clenched his throat and gasped for air. His friend grabbed at her but she dogged his grasp and kicked him on the side of his leg, a little above the knee. He stumbled down in pain. She ran away, wanting to be alone, now, more than ever. Tears started to run down her face. 'I'm over this' she said to herself, 'I've come to terms with their death'. She ran up a staircase that lead to the roof of one of the shops. There was a man standing there. She couldn't really see his face. They exchanged a few words and she walked to the edge of the roof to see if the men were still in the street below. Suddenly, the man grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the edge of the roof. She could have pushed him away, but there was something familiar about him. "Don't do it," he whispered into her ear, "Don't jump. Whatever is going on right now, it's not worth throwing your life away." His words somehow made her laughed. She just found it funny that he would assume that she was trying to commit suicide. He let go of her and she realized that it had been a long time since anyone had held her in an embrace.
"You thought I was going to jump?" she said still laughing, "Just because a girl is crying, doesn't mean she's going to killer herself."
"I didn't know if you were okay and I could smell the beer, so I assumed…" he trailed off
"Someone spilled a beer on me, I don't drink anyway." She gave him a sad smile and looked up at his face. She froze. It was dark and his hoodie was covering most of his face but she recognized him. It was Captain Levi. Neither one of them spoke for some time. She thought back to the last few minutes. He hadn't called her brat and he hadn't shouted at her to go away when she first stumbled onto the roof. Why was he being nice? She noticed his somber expression. He looked more sad than usual. Could it be that he didn't recognize her? Impossible. 'Well,' she thought, 'if he's going to treat me like a stranger, I'll just do the same.'
